Bike Week Underway In Los Angeles

You might have noticed that there are a lot more people riding their bikes throughout the city this week.

That is because this week is Bike Week.

Bike Week is a week-long initiative, sponsored by Metro, that includes a series of activities intended to get more Angelinos to ride their bicycles.

On Monday, things got underway with a kickoff ceremony at Union Station. There, city leaders as well as members from the MTA and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation talked about a new report by the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition that says there is an increase of bike riders in the city.

“Overall, ridership in the city of L.A. is up 7.5 percent over 2011,” said Jennifer Klausner, executive director of the coalition.

Klausner said this is because of the approximately 200 miles of bikeways that have been added to streets across the city.

“When you see how many people in Los Angeles bike every single day…it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever that we only invest one percent of our dollars here at Metro on bicycling and active transportation,” said Mike Bonin, city councilman and MTA director. “It is time for that to change.”

The bicycle events continued on Tuesday at Good Samaritan Hospital where bicycles were blessed.

Other events scheduled for the rest of the week include bike guided rides from Union Stations to Boyle Heights on Wednesday and Bike to Work Day on Thursday in which everyone who rides the Metro buses and trains with a bike or bike helmet will not be charged a fare.

On Friday, an event outside of Union Station called Metro Bike Night will feature live music, food trucks, a fashion show and contests.

This week, L.A. is also experiencing a heat wave so be sure to check out these tips on how to stay cool during the hot weather while you ride your bike.